(DML Top 20 Lists - Tragic Drama Films ranked)

Honorable Mention

Into the Wild (2007), Director: Sean Penn, Rated R for language, some nudity

Into the heart Into the soul

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Jena Malone, Brian H. Dierker, Kristen Stewart, Hal Holbrook, Zach Galifianakis, Vince Vaughn

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"The core of man's spirit comes from new experiences." – Christopher McCandless (aka "Alexander Supertramp")

Why watch this? The tale of this deep-thinking young man has lessons for all of us.

Plot Summary: There are those who are drawn to living life on the free edge, as close to nature as possible. Beautiful mountains. Scenic deserts. Raging rivers. One such person is Christoper McCandless, a man in his early twenties, disenchanted with modern America, and determined to experience life "off the grid". After graduating from Emory University, he burns his credit cards and embarks to see the wild, leaving behind no trail to follow. This devastates all those who love him, but he MUST do this to be honest with himself. He is a cheerful, intelligent kid who enamors the wayward folks he encounters, yet breaks their hearts when he moves on. His destination is Alaska.

Dad's Preview: This film's brilliance is that it's not selling an agenda. It simply, and quite beautifully, documents the evolution of a free spirit. We witness the romantic harmony of nature's beauty contrasted against the brutality of life as a vagabond, always hungry and overwhelmed by nature's power. As we also encounter Christopher's free lifestyle, we have to be prepared to feel heartbreak as well. Sadly, the lessons learned are painful, but in a way, worth the cost.

River Road Ent., Square One C.I.H.,
Linson Films; Paramount Vantage

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #20 Top

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Director: Lasse Hallström, rated PG-13 for mature themes

Life is a Terrible Thing to Sleep Through.

Starring: Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis, Darlene Cates, Laura Harrington, Mary Kate Schellhardt, Kevin Tighe, John C. Reilly

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"I'm not gonna let her be a joke." - Gilbert, speaking about his mother

Why watch this? This heart-rendering story is superb thanks to its incredible cast.

Plot Summary: Gilbert Grape is a young man burdened by the weight of caring for his morbidly obese mother and his intellectually disabled younger brother, Arnie, in their small, stagnant Iowa town. Gilbert struggles to balance his family responsibilities with his own desires for happiness and freedom, feeling trapped by his circumstances. His life takes an unexpected turn with the arrival of Becky, a free-spirited woman who challenges his perspective and offers him a glimpse of a different future.

Dad's Preview: A lot of warranted attention went to 19-year-old Leo DiCaprio, who garnered a Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, but it's Johnny Depp who makes it all work. You can just feel the weight he bears each and every day supporting his dysfunctional family. Yet, for as bad as it is, he still manages to keep going, hoping that things will someday change for all of them. Why the Academy disrespects Mr. Depp is beyond me.

Matalon Teper Ohisson; Paramount Pics

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #19 Top

Train Dreams (2025), Director: Clint Bentley, Rated PG-13

A Rare Thing of Beauty. - The Playlist

Starring: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, William H. Macy, Will Patton (narr.), Nathaniel Arcand, John Diehl, Paul Schneider, Clifton Collins Jr., Alfred Hsing

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"The world needs a hermit in the woods as much as a preacher in the pulpit." – Claire Thompson

Why watch this? With every quiet brushstroke, director Bentley creates a masterpiece.

Plot Summary: In early 20th-century America, stoic logger Robert Grainier builds a life and family in the Pacific Northwest, only to face devastating loss that haunts him, forcing him to confront his grief amidst a rapidly changing world of brutal labor and burgeoning progress.

Dad's Preview: Great films teach us about life, each in a different way. This remarkable effort, based on the novel by Dennis Johnson, paints a life-montage. Although the story is uniquely American, its themes are universal: love, friendship, bigotry, loss, redemption, death. It stops and takes its time to let little moments develop. A simple gesture becomes a painful memory, then a reason to keep on living. Here, like a quiet forest, we ache to hear every word from real men and women. The dialog is beautifully economical. These characters are real. And what a performance by Joel Edgerton. We feel every ounce of pain on his weary face. It stays with you.

Black Bear, Kamala Films; Netflix

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #18 Top

Ikiru (1952), Director: Akira Kurosawa, Not Rated (Dad's guess G)

One of the Great Films of Our Time!

Starring: Takashi Shimura, Shinichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka, Minoru Chiaki, Bokuzen Hhidari, Miki Odagiri, Kamatari Fujiwara, Nobuo Nakamura

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"How beautiful! Truly beautiful. A sunset. I don't think I've really looked at one in 30 years." – Kanji Watanabe

Why watch this? It's a story of a man's life lived, but not necessarily enjoyed. Then he learns of his incurable cancer...

Plot Summary: An aging, bureaucratic civil servant discovers he has terminal stomach cancer and faces a reckoning with his largely unfulfilled life. This realization prompts him to seek meaning and purpose in his final months. Despite initial missteps and a struggle with his family and the rigid bureaucracy, he ultimately dedicates himself to a single, impactful project that will live on forever.

Dad's Preview: Legendary film director Kurosawa is best known for epic films featuring lengthy battles and action-filled samurai duels. This film is a stark departure. It follows a nearly invisible man, Takashi, who has dutifully worked for 30 years. His wife is dead; his son only wants his inheritance. When he learns of his cancer, it shocks him into action. This film moves slowly, but it will grab you if you give it a chance. Then you will experience its richness, and eventually, its painful lesson that death is approaching us all, and we can only choose the best way to prepare for it.

Sōjirō Motoki; Toho

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #17 Top

Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Director: Isao Takahata, Not rated (Dad's guess PG-13)

It belongs on any list of the greatest war films ever made - Roger Ebert

Starring: (the voice talents of:) Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Akemi Yamaguchi, Yoshiko Shinohara, Kôzô Hashida, Masayo Sakai, Kazumi Nozaki, Yoshio Matsuoka, Masahiro Kanetake, Kiyoshi Yanagawa

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"Why do fireflies have to die so soon?" - Setsuko

Why watch this? War is hell on soldiers, but it's also hell on the civilians that live beneath falling bombs.

Plot Summary: During the final months of World War II in Japan, teenage Seita and his young sister Setsuko are orphaned after an American firebombing destroys their home and separates them from their parents. The two children must rely completely on one another for survival, struggling to find food and shelter in the war-torn countryside after a falling out with their unsympathetic aunt. Their story is a heartbreaking tale of the devastating impact of war on innocent civilians and the profound strength of their sibling bond amidst unimaginable hardship.

Dad's Preview: This visceral, emotional film depicts the cost war takes on civilians. It is based on a semi-autobiographical short story written by Akiyuki Nosaka, who himself survived during and after the incendiary bombings of Kobe, Japan. The people left to fend for themselves amid the rubble of their world had it bad enough. Nosaka had the added responsibility of caring for his little sister, Setsuko. Though an animated feature, their journey is anything but childish or funny. It heart-shattering, as they fight to find food and stay alive. This is about incredibly courage and horrible tragedy. Many consider this to be one of the greatest animated films ever made. For me, it is a necessary anti-war film that drives home the point: war simply kills people. Period.

Studio Ghibli; Toho

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #16 Top

The Pianist (2002), Director: Roman Polanski, rated R

Music was his passion. Survival was his masterpiece.

Starring: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finley, Maureen Lipman, Emilia Fox, Ed Stoppard, Julia Rayner, Jessica Kate Meyer, Ronan Vibert, Ruth Platt, Andrew Tiernan, Michal Zebrowski, Richard Ridings

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"They're exterminating us. It won't take them long. We are 60 thousand left, out of half a million. Mostly young people." - Majorek

Why watch this? This is a superb telling of survival within Poland during WWII.

Plot Summary: Based on the autobiography of Władysław Szpilman, the film follows a renowned Polish-Jewish classical pianist struggling to survive as the Nazis occupy Warsaw and enforce brutal persecution. After being separated from his family during the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto, he endures years of starvation and hiding, relying on the help of non-Jewish allies and the Polish resistance. Amidst the destruction of the city, he finds a unlikely glimmer of hope through the compassion of a music-loving German officer.

Dad's Preview: Władysław Szpilman's story, as captured in his 1946 autobiographical book of the same name, is incredible. His survival, during perhaps the most deadly time and place in the world for his Jewish race, seems to be a combination of luck, the help of many Poles who knew of his piano talents, and perhaps even a little divine intervention. This emotional film, of life and death in the Warsaw ghetto, benefits from an amazing screenplay, Adrian Brody's portrayal of the lead character (his eyes exude sadness) and steady direction from Roman Polanski, himself a Holocaust survivor. I will be honest, there are moments here that are hard to take. You will be emotionally overwhelmed at the madness and cruelty of the Nazis. That said it is certainly worth every second of your time, if for no other reason, to remember.

Canal+, Studio Babelsberg,
SudioCanal; BAC Films

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #15 Top

Still Alice (2014), Directors: Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland, rated PG-13

Live in the Moment.

Starring: Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth, Shane McRae, Hunter Parrish, Seth Gilliam, Stephen Kunken, Erin Darke, Daniel Gerroll

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"I used to be someone who knew a lot. No one asks for my opinion or advice anymore. I miss that. I used to be curious and independent and confident. I miss being sure of things." – Dr. Alice Howland

Why watch this? Alzheimer's Disease. This film is a poignant education for those unfamiliar with this disease.

Plot Summary: The brilliant Dr. Alice Howland, a Columbia University professor, starts to notice that she can't find certain words. She gets temporarily lost on a jog. After meeting with a neuroscientist, she is diagnosed with early onset familial Alzheimer's disease. She and her husband inform their three adult children, and since her disease is familial, they have the option to be tested. Two take the test. Her youngest, Lydia, decides not to know. If you haven't figured it now by now, Alzheimer's is perhaps the most horrible news anybody can receive as a medical prognosis.

Dad's Preview: Over a short period of time, all your mental wealth, obtained over a lifetime, will diminish, then completely disappear. Luckily "early onset" is rare. This powerful film is a tender, tragic, triumphant, and bitterly sad expose that everyone should watch. We all need to be aware of it - for awareness, for empathy, for support. The cast is stellar, and Julianne Moore's gut-wrenching performance may be the pinnacle of of her wonderful career. She received the Best Actress Oscar, and it's well-deserved.

Killer Films, Lutzus-Brown, BSM Studio, Big
Indie Pics, Shriver Films; Sony Pictures Classics

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #14 Top

Manchester by the Sea (2016), Director: Kenneth Lonergan, rated R for language, adult themes

Breathtaking... A truly incredible piece of cinema!

Starring: Caseu Affleck, Lucas Hedges, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, C. J. Wilson, Tate Donovan, Kara Hayward, Anna Baryshnikov, Heather Burns, Gretchen Mol, Matthew Broderick

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"I can't beat it... I can't beat it. I'm sorry." - Lee Chandler

Why watch this? This is a powerful lesson in grief... how it instantly starts and relentlessly stays.

Plot Summary: A depressed, introverted Boston janitor is summoned to his Massachusetts hometown upon his older brother's sudden death. He is shocked to learn he has been appointed legal guardian of his spirited teenage nephew. Returning to the seaside community forces him to confront profound grief and the tragic events from his past.

Dad's Preview: I first viewed this in 2016, a year after my wife's twin sister passed way unexpectedly. I sort of prided myself on how I was able to deal with death. What an idiot. At that time I missed everything this movie was saying. After years of witnessing grief firsthand, I put this on a week ago. It wrecked me. I sobbed into my hands. This quiet movie meanders along, jumping back in time here and there, to tell Lee's story, and it is as tragic as humanly possible. To cope, he turn off all emotions and does his menial job as a handyman. Then his brother, his rock, dies, and he has to go back to his hometown, and face all the old scars again. The acting here is stellar and brutally honest. Casey Affleck won Best Actor for his understated, yet powerful, lead performance. This slow burn tragi-drama is worth your time, but be prepared to shed a few tears.

Pearl Street Films, K Period Media,
The Media Farm, The A/Middleton Project, B Story;
Amazon Studios, Roadside Attractions

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #13 Top

Hamnet (2025), Director: Chloé Zhao, rated PG-13

Keep Your Heart Open

Starring: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn, Jacobi Jupe, Olivia Lynes, Justine Mitchell, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, James Skinner, Noah Jupe, David Wilmot

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"We must never let our guard down. Never take for granted... that our children's hearts beat, that they draw breath, that they walk and speak and... smile, argue, play. Never forget for a moment that they may be gone." - Mary

Why watch this? Stories are best when they take us on a journey rife with happiness and pain.

Plot Summary: Set in 1590s England, the film follows the passionate romance and family life of Agnes and her ambitious playwright husband, William, as they navigate love and marriage in Stratford-upon-Avon. When an unexpected tragedy hits, the couple faces immense, devastating grief that fractures their household.

Dad's Preview: Tales set back in the late middle ages remind us how good we have things today. These early populations constantly feared injury, the plague, and fevers that were particularly deadly for children. Yet, people still fell in love and raised families. This lovely film centers on one such couple, Agnes and William. Despite reservations from his parents (they are wary that the forest-loving Agnes is a witch), the pair marry and have three children. The magic here is how director Zhao takes her time in life's moments. This builds our relationships with the characters. When tragedy occurs, it's a literal gut-punch. The film's ending is masterful, a play within a play, that will, very possibly, restore your faith in the human experience.

Hera Pictures, Neal Street Prod., Amblin Ent.,
Book of Shadows; Focus Features

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #12 Top

The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), Director: William A. Wellman, rated Approved

LYNCH LAW RULES THE MOB!

Starring: Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Harry Morgan, Frank Conroy, Anthony Quinn, William Eythe, Jane Darwell, Matt Briggs

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"You don't even care whether you've got the right men or not. All you know is you've lost something and somebody's got to be punished." - Donald Martin

Why watch this? This is a twist on the old West's posse - what if they catch the wrong people?

Plot Summary: In a small Western town, news arrives that a local rancher has been murdered and his cattle stolen. With the sheriff out of town, a posse forms to track down the perpetrators. When the posse finds three men with cattle bearing the rancher's brand, a heated debate ensues about whether to administer immediate justice or wait for the sheriff and a formal trial.

Dad's Preview: The American Western film is a great vehicle for the morality tale. It's easier to depict how people will act in a setting where many laws had to be enforced by the citizens, not the government. In this film a rancher has been murdered and a mob forms to bring justice. They find three men with cattle and assume these men are the murders. The mob, led by the tyrannical, bigoted Major Tetley, sets to hang the men. This is a great exercise in the evils of mob mentality and groupthink.

Lamar Trotti; 20th Century Fox

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #11 Top

Dead Poets Society (1989), Director: Peter Weir, rated PG-13

He was their inspiration. He made their lives extraordinary.

Starring: Robin Williams, Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, Josh Charles, Kurtwood Smith, George Martin

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world." – John Keating

Why watch this? It shows the wonder found in new, controversial ideas; and the lengths some people will go to suppress them.

Plot Summary: At a strict all-boys preparatory school in 1959, an unconventional English teacher uses poetry to inspire his students to embrace individuality and challenge societal expectations. He encourages them to "seize the day" and pursue their passions, leading to both inspiring self-discovery and direct confrontation with school officials used to doing things more conservatively.

Dad's Preview: Robin Williams really changed his career trajectory with this film. It established him as more than just a comedic actor. It is a wonderful, albeit painful, story of a prep school English teacher who is ahead of his time. He desperately strives to tap into the passions within his young male students (using his witty comedy style). The film is uplifting, wonderful and simultaneously tragic. Everyone will forever remember the phrase, "Carpe Diem!"

Touchstone Pics, Silver Screen Partners IV;
Buena Vista Pictures Distributing

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #10 Top

Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Director: Arthur Penn, rated R for violence, language

The strangest damned gang you ever heard of. They're young. They're in love. They rob banks.

Starring: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Denver Pyle, Dub Taylor, Gene Wilder

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"This here's Miss Bonnie Parker. I'm Clyde Barrow. We rob banks." - Clyde Barrow

Why watch this? To many Southwestern poor folks, the Barrow gangsters were heroes. Texas lawmen saw it differently.

Plot Summary: During the Great Depression, a bored waitress named Bonnie Parker meets ex-con Clyde Barrow and they begin a crime spree across America. As they rob banks and evade law enforcement, their exploits become more violent. The film follows their love story and growing notoriety as they become infamous criminals.

Dad's Preview: This story chronicles real-life, Texas-born, bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, who pillaged in the South during the Great Depression. It all but immortalized actors Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty for their performances. This film introduced a more realistic type of film-making, breaking more grittier ground. The gang's mayhem and violence is sometimes hard to watch. The film's brutal ending is now considered one of cinema's most iconic moments.

Warner Bros. Pics; Warner Bros.-Seven Arts

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #9 Top

A Beautiful Mind (2001), Director: Ridley Scott, rated PG-13 for language

He Saw The World In A Way No One Could Have Imagined.

Starring: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Paul Bettany, Christopher Plummer, Adam Goldberg, Josh Lucas, Judd Hirsch

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"Imagine if you suddenly learned that the people, the places, the moments most important to you were not gone, not dead, but worse, had never been. What kind of hell would that be?" – Dr. Rosen

Why watch this? What is the difference between genius and insanity? A mere thread.

Plot Summary: Mathematician John Nash started college as a brilliant young student, making a revolutionary discovery. Then he had to face profound mental challenges.

Dad's Preview: An inspiring true story of American mathematician John Nash, who was brilliant, yet suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. This Academy Award winning film will draw you in, stun you at every curve, and, in the end, blow you away. Kudos to Crowe and Connelly, whose award-winning performances are noteworthy. The film won four Oscars, including Best Picture.

DreamWorks Pictures, Imagine Ent.;
Universal Pictures

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #8 Top

Ordinary People (1980), Director: Robert Redford, rated R for adult situations

Everything is in its proper place... Except the past.

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Timothy Hutton, M. Emmet Walsh, Elizabeth McGovern, Dinah Manoff

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"A little advice about feelings kiddo; don't expect it always to tickle."- Dr. Berger

Why watch this? It's an engrossing film about tragedy and its long-lasting affects.

Plot Summary: Set in an affluent Chicago suburb, we see a family grappling with the aftermath of a tragic boating accident that killed their eldest son. The surviving younger son, wracked with guilt and depression, attempts suicide and is subsequently hospitalized. The film explores the family's attempts to navigate their grief and strained relationships, particularly highlighting the mother's emotional distance.

Dad's Preview: Who knew Robert Redford could direct? After this Oscar winning film, we all did. This is a poignant story that deals with many difficult subjects: a young boy's death, the aftermath on his family, suicide, and the value of psychiatric council. The performances are stellar, as is Redford's tender direction. There are some scenes that are almost too painful to watch. Regardless, you need to stick it out, and follow the journey to its end. Then, perhaps, you will better recognize and empathize with those that are hurting.

Wildwood Enterprises, Inc; Paramount Pics

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #7 Top

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928, French: La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc), Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer, rated Passed

An Immortal Screen Classic that will live Forever!

Starring: Renée Jeanne Falconetti, Eugène Silvain, André Berley, Maurice Schutz, Antonin Artaud, Gilbert Dalleu, Michel Simon

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"When the mission that God has entrusted to me is over, I will again dress as a woman." - Jeanne d'Arc, when asked why she wears men's clothing

Why watch this? ... her passion, as shown here, is otherworldly.

Plot Summary: This silent film chronicles the 15th-century trial of Joan of Arc, a young warrior accused of heresy for claiming divine visions. The film focuses on her intense interrogation by church officials who attempt to force her to recant her claims and beliefs. Ultimately, she faces a brutal punishment and becomes a symbol of martyrdom and steadfast faith.

Dad's Preview: This silent film is called historical, as it was created from the detailed records of Jeanne d'Arc's trial and execution. Before age 20, she led the French in many battles during the Hundred Years' War and was captured by the church in England, She was then tried for heresy. The religious court threatens and intimidates her in a effort to get her to sign a document stating she was under the devil's influence. This early film is a cinematic landmark for its production value and use of close-up shots for effect. You will walk away from this powerful masterpiece with a lot to think about. On my second viewing, I wept uncontrollably.

Société Générale des Films

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #6 Top

Brokeback Mountain (2005), Director: Ang Lee, rated R for language, adult situations

Love Is A Force Of Nature

Starring: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Linda Cardellini, Anna Faris, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Williams, Randy Quaid, Linda Cardellini

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"The bottom line is...we're around each other and...this thing grabs hold of us again...in the wrong place...in the wrong time...we're dead." - Ennis Del Mar

Why watch this? This is a love story, set in a place where folks don't tolerate anybody "different".

Plot Summary: In 1963, two out-of-work cowboys, Jack and Ennis, hire on working sheep in the Wyoming wilderness. Unexpectedly, the two become intimate, something they agree was a "one time deal". They return to their lives, both marrying and having kids. Over the next ten years, however, their forbidden relationship grows as they meet for annual fishing trips.

Dad's Preview: This complex, unconventional love story painfully illustrates the jagged edge these rugged men had to walk if they dared show their true feelings. Ledger and Gyllenhaal deliver incredible performances under Ang Lee's sensitive direction. The film won three Oscars, including Best Director and Best Score.

River Road Entertainment; Focus Features

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #5 Top

Philadelphia (1993), Director: Jonathan Demme, rated PG

No one would take on his case... until one man was willing to take on the system.

Starring: Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, Jason Robarbs, Mary Steenburgen, Antonio Banderas, Joanne Woodward

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #27 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of Philadelphia

"Every now and again - not often, but occasionally - you get to be a part of justice being done. That really is quite a thrill when that happens." - Andrew Beckett

Why watch this? ... are all men created equal? Apparently not all men.

Plot Summary: An ambitious lawyer Andrew Beckett is fired from his prestigious law firm after his HIV-positive status and homosexuality are discovered, prompting him to sue for wrongful termination. He hires Joe Miller, a homophobic personal injury lawyer, as his only willing advocate, and together they fight his former employers in a landmark discrimination case that challenges prejudice and reveals uncomfortable truths.

Dad's Preview: I've always been a fan of courtroom dramas. Philadelphia is that, and much more. An attorney, Andrew Beckett, is fired from a prestigious firm. The stated reason? - bad performance. The real reason: He is a gay man with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Andrew hires Joe Miller, one of the few lawyers willing to take his case. Together they take on the firm's corrupt practices, fueled by society's fear and hatred towards the community most impacted by the deadly disease. This amazing film should serve as a gut-punch regarding false fears and bigotry. Please have the courage to watch it.

Clinica Estetico Prod.; TriStar Pictures

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #4 Top

Titanic (1997), Director: James Cameron, rated PG-13 for intense situations/deaths

She was heralded as unsinkable...

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, David Warner

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"The press knows the size of Titanic, now I want them to marvel at her speed, too. We must give them something new to print. And the maiden voyage of Titanic must make headlines!" – I. Bruce Ismay

Why watch this? A truly epic telling of the greatest maritime disaster.

Plot Summary: A young, upper-class lady, Rose DeWitt Bukater, feels trapped by her engagement to a wealthy but controlling man, Cal. Aboard the luxurious RMS Titanic, she meets Jack Dawson, a free-spirited artist traveling in third class. Despite their stark class differences and Rose's engagement, they fall deeply in love. However, their romance unfolds against the backdrop of the ship's fateful maiden voyage and the impending disaster that will forever change their lives.

Dad's Preview: I've always found sea disasters interesting to research. What went wrong? Could it have been prevented? The story of R.M.S. Titanic is an exercise in man's hubris. For god's sake they called her "Unsinkable", before she had sailed a single league. The film, its cinematography and effects are very well done. Even the fictional love story is engaging. As horrible as it was, the actual sinking, which takes quite a while, is remarkable to witness on the big screen, and I loved every minute of it.

20th Century Fox, Lightstorm Ent.;
Paramount Pictures

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #3 Top

American Beauty (1999), Director: Sam Mendes, rated R strong sexuality, nudity, language, violence

... look closer

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Mena Suvari, Wes Bentley, Allison Janney, Peter Gallagher, Chris Cooper

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"I feel like I've been in a coma for the past twenty years. And I'm just now waking up." – Lester Burnham

Why watch this? It's such a uniquely American tragedy, both beautiful and brutally painful.

Plot Summary: Lester Burnham is a man slogging through a suburban marriage, and a midlife crisis, who becomes infatuated with his daughter's best friend. This sexual obsession leads him to question and significantly change his life, including his career and his relationships. These changes are a bit too radical for his wife to handle.

Dad's Preview: This film takes a critical look at the American way of life, and how the insatiable quest for material happiness can screw people up. We have a man in the midst of a mid-life crisis. His tightly wound wife is losing her mind, and having an affair, too. Their teenage daughter desperately just wants to be seen. Their neighbor is a hard-ass ex-military man, who's hell-bent on toughing up his sensitive son. Mix this all together, and the result is a cinematic climax you won't soon forget.

Jinks/Cohen Co.; DreamWorks Pictures

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #2 Top

Ben-Hur (1959), Director: William Wyler, Rated G

A Tale of the Christ

Starring: Charlton Heston, Haya Harareet, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, Cathy O'Donnell, Sam Jaffe

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #15 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of Ben-Hur

"We keep you alive to serve this ship. Row well, and live." - Quintus Arrius

Why watch this? It's epic scale is hard to comprehend in this CGI digital age.

Plot Summary: Judah Ben-Hur, a wealthy Jewish prince in Roman-occupied Jerusalem, is falsely accused of an assassination attempt by his childhood friend, the ambitious Roman tribune Messala. After being sentenced to the galleys as a slave, Ben-Hur vows to seek vengeance for his family's destruction and his own unjust suffering. His quest for justice eventually leads him to a dramatic confrontation with Messala in a high-stakes chariot race.

Dad's Preview: This is one of the few films that still impacts me spiritually. The epic religious tale centers on a Jewish man's quest to get revenge on the Roman leader who devastated his life and family. It is set in Judea at the time of Christ. Its massive scope outdoes the early silent film by the great Cecile B. DeMille in 1925. Here, there were 15,000 extras employed during filming. The chariot race segment is still breath-taking.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; Loew's Inc.

Top 20 Tragic Drama Films #1 Top

Schindler's List (1993), Director: Steven Spielberg, rated R for violence, language, torture, mass murder

The list is life. The man was real. The story is true.

Starring: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagallie, Embeth Davidtz, Mark Ivanir, Beatrice Macola

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #25 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of Schindler's List

"They came with nothing. Nothing. And they flourished. For six centuries there has been a Jewish Krakow. Think about that. By this evening those six centuries are a rumor. They never happened. Today is history." – SS 2nd LT Amon Göth

Why watch this? ... to remember, and not let it happen again - EVER on this Earth.

Plot Summary: During World War II in German-occupied Poland, a German industrialist named Oskar Schindler arrives in Kraków seeking to make his fortune amidst the war's chaos. Initially driven by profit, he establishes a factory employing Jewish workers, seeing them as a source of cheap labor. As the Nazi regime intensifies its persecution of Jews, Schindler is confronted with the atrocities of the Holocaust and undergoes a profound moral transformation.

Dad's Preview: How do you tell a story so horrible it defies belief? As honestly as you can. Many films have referenced the Holocaust, using it as a backdrop. However, no film more directly confronts humanity's most devastating chapter than this dark, necessary effort. It recounts fascist Germany's creation of the Płaszów concentration camp during World War II. The Jews sent there endured total upheaval, horrible prison conditions and merciless torture by Nazi camp officials. It was horrific. Director Steven Spielberg, himself a Jew, had to commit this story to film, and his effort is a masterpiece on both inhuman depravity and the courageous human spirit.

Amblin Entertainment; Universal Pictures